Philadelphia Flyers: Players show rustiness during open practice

Philadelphia Flyers' coach Peter Laviolette directs his players during the first practice session at the team's training camp Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, in Voorhees, N.J. The Flyers, and other NHL teams, returned after a 113-day lockout ended with an settlement on a new collective bargaining agreement. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

PHILADELPHIA — With the first bellows of the microphone men and before 15,000-and-change happy (free) ticket holders, Claude Giroux stepped onto Wells Fargo ice Thursday night for the first time as a Flyers team captain. Right away, he realized he was out of step with his teammates.

Fortunately for Giroux, the misstep was intentional, kind of a brief and harmless hazing act from his buddies for his official debut as team leader.

“It was pretty funny,” Sean Couturier said after the Flyers held their thank-you practice for the fans. “New captain...(so) we let him have his fame out there.”

Don’t be surprised Saturday afternoon if the missteps continue, however. With less than a week of preparation, the Flyers will be back on this sheet of ice Saturday, before 20,000 or so fans for a somewhat more intense event: the shortened-season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were last seen getting eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoffs right here nine months ago.

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“We know what to expect,” said Giroux, who in that Game 6 elimination of the Penguins flattened Sid Crosby and scored the first goal, all in the first minute of the game.

“We know how they’re going to play,” Giroux added about the Penguins. “We know it’s going to be an intense game. We have to make sure we get our sleep and be ready to go.”

Didn’t someone say about this time last month that the league that never manages to wake up (or is that grow up?) will spend another season in hibernation?

Instead, thanks to a little 11th-hour panicking by players and more than a few acts of relentment from enough league owners, the Flyers are hours away from kicking off a season they think can lead to greater glory.

Of course, everything seems perfect before the opener. Especially when the ticket is free.

“It’s pretty special going out there and seeing all those fans, happy and cheering us,” Couturier said. “It was a pretty cool feeling. It was a fun night.”

Noting that it was somewhat difficult running real drills with all that fan activity around them, Couturier added, “It’s a little awkward, a little different. But it’s good to see support from them and (for us) to show what we’ve got.”

As for shiny new toys, the Flyers feature hopefully physical defenseman Luke Schenn, paired with 37-year-old Kimmo Timonen as a new top blue line pair.

They have Ruslan Fedotenko back for a second tenure, centering a fourth line with Phantoms grads Eric Wellwood on the left and Zac Rinaldo on the right.

And with Jaromir Jagr gone — and yes, the Flyers will regret that overs(l)ight — new captain Giroux will center top line wingers Scott Hartnell and Brayden Schenn.

Former third-liners Couturier (in the middle) and Max Talbot will step up to a second line to join Jake Voracek. And until Danny Briere gets healthy - might be four or five games for him to get back from a wrist fracture — Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read will be centered by 18-year-old Scott Laughton.

Or is that too obvious a guess?

“I think he’s a mature kid and he seems to know what to do,” said Couturier, who only a year and three months ago was an 18-year-old center trying to stick with the big club. “He’s a smart player. He seems to understand the defensive side of the game, where you’ve got to pay attention to all the details and what it take to be a pro in your approach.”

As for the guy who will make the decision whether to have his very green junior prospect start the season, coach Peter Laviolette said he’ll huddle with GM Paul Holmgren today to discuss Laughton. But the evidence is pretty clear.

“He’s a kid that can skate well; he can make plays,” Laviolette said. “I think he’s a smart player, based on what I’ve seen so far. ... He doesn’t look like he’s out of place by any stretch out there. So we’ll have conversations internally and then talk about it.”

Normally, junior prospects can start an NHL season by playing a maximum of 10 games before their eligibility to be returned to juniors expires. For this shortened season, the Flyers would have five games to gauge Laughton before a decision would have to be made to send him back or keep him the rest of the way.

While Laughton looks like an intriguing fit while Briere is out, it would be a stretch to consider him a prime candidate to spend an entire rookie season here.

Of course, Couturier pulled that off without any AHL experience last year. Yet he didn’t have a lockout slowing him down.

“Sean played in a whole lot of exhibition games,” Laviolette pointed out. “We threw him everywhere. ... he never disappointed us. We gave him the opportunity and with every opportunity he thrived. That’s what’s missing here with Scott. We just haven’t been able to give him the opportunity.”

But Laughton isn’t daring to think that far ahead.

“I’ve only been trying to control what I can do,” said Laughton, who scored 21 goals and 53 points in just his second junior campaign with Oshawa last season. “I can’t control what they decide so I’ll play my game and hopefully that will take care of itself. I’ve been trying to step up my game this year and getting ready for the next level. I just want to do anything I can to make this team.”